When we got up this morning my family was worried as the news of a 6.7 earthquake hitting the Philippines broadcast on our television. My son’s family lives in our house, and the three grandkids’ other grandpa lives in Manila in the northern part of the country. The earthquake struck the large southern island of Mindanao, killing at least six people and injuring over 100.

The last time the Philippines has been hit by an earthquake that was stronger was in 1879, more than 100 years ago. Being located in the Pacific Ring of Fire means the southeast Asia/southwest Pacific country has frequent tremors. Friday night’s massive quake was a wake-up call about how vulnerable the island nation is to earthquakes. Since the main earthquake, the Philippines has been rattled by dozens of aftershocks.

No tsunami warning has been issued. There has been some structural damage to homes, roadways and bridges, and larger buildings. There has been extensive damage to power lines and water supplies.

The earthquake struck at around 10 pm last night, at about the time people were going to bed. As a result of the rumbling, and damage to homes, many people spent the evening hours in parks and shelters.

The Surigao Airport has been closed after cracks appeared in the runway.